Necromage
by Priest To The Old Ones
Summary: When he lost everything he embraced a dark magic, so ancient and foul that the world would have gladly done away with it, in the hopes of gaining it all back. Necromancy. But with his powers sealed he must first face a deadly and challenging task, being a teacher at an all girls highschool...wait what? Dark Negi x harem. Possible lemons.
1. Reunions

I actually started this fic months ago before I fell into my funk. I've only recently picked it back up.

so about this story

basically its a dark Negi fic. He's still a nice guy, treats others kindly, he's just a bit closed off, has no problem with killing people, uses dark magic happily, and loves fighting. the overall mood of the story will still be the fun and happy one that it was for the manga, its just Negi's part in it that will be dark. it is an OP fic though so if you dont like then this is not for you. this will be a large harem fic and will most likely have lemons in it. OH. and there's going to be some dark humor in this story, there's a fine example of it in this chapter so if your sensitive then don't read. and...that's it. its 12:00am, im fucking tired and i have work in the morning. please leave a review and tell me what you think and don't sugar coat it. and like i said in my other fic i suck ass at writing intro chapters so sorry if this one sucks.

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><p>Students of many ages and grades, but mostly female, rushed from the train station, surprisingly eager to begin the new school year. A voice came over the station's speaker system encouraging the students to make it to their classes on time. As they rushed forth, chatting and meeting up with old friends, none seemed to notice the small figure standing in their midst. After a few minutes, when the crowds of students finally dispersed, the figures' full appearance could be seen. The person in question was dressed in a black hoodie that looked two sizes to big with only their mouth visible. It had thick, deep purple outlines and cargo pockets on the front and sleeves. Purple, red and black camo designed cargo pants covered the persons legs along with a pair of black boots. On the figures back was a large tan camping bag with a long staff in wrappings strapped to the side. Perched on its left shoulder was a large raven and on its right was a small white ermine with a black tipped tail.<p>

"Well, there sure are a lot of girls here." The ermine spoke in a scratchy male voice, a perverted grin slowly spreading its way across his face.

"Don't even think about it fur ball!" The raven shouted in a light feminine voice. "Didn't you get your fill on the train?"

A small trail of blood leaked from his nose as he remembered the hour long trip which he spent peeking up skirts. Except when one of the girls spotted him and, instead of stomping on him like he was used to, picked him up and snuggled him into her chest while screaming how cute he was. By the time he came out of his shock a large group of the girls' friends joined her, smothering him in marshmallow heaven. "Hehe, I love this country."

The raven sighed "Why master agreed to bring you along I will never understand."

"Because we're brothers and bros look out for each other" He responded, thumping his chest. "Right bro?"

The hooded figure said nothing as he started to walk along the road.

The ermine shot the raven a worried look. "Bro, you ok?"

Again the person said nothing as they continued down the street almost mechanically.

The raven let out a depressed sigh. "Master I know you are upset. It wasn't right of them to force you to come or to place the seal on you, but please remember that Chamo and I are here for you every step of the way. We will not let those fools stop you from reaching your goals!" She stated, flames of passion burning in hers eyes.

"Kalma's right, those morons don't know who there dealing with. Once you remove that seal we'll go back and teach them a lesson." Chamo exclaimed while punching the air.

"Yeah, we'll show them what happens when they cross Negi Springfeild!"

Negi stopped walking, now standing at the bottom stairs to a grand brick building, the sign above the main gates read "MAHORA ACADEMY".

"If the seal was an issue I would have done away with it mouths ago. No, I'm exactly where I want to be Kalma." His voice was light and clear, matching his age yet it held a level of maturity to it. He spread his arms out before him, bidding the two to look at the school. "Mahora Academy, a hidden sanctuary and home to magical secrets even some of the worlds most refined and powerful magicians are ignorant to. Secrets that only those with the proper knowledge and will can uncover." He lowered his arms, a practically giddy smile appearing across his face. "And I've been hired to teach here for who knows how long. All the hidden treasures and knowledge of the magical world are right at my fingertips, and all I have to do is reach out and grab them."

Chamo and Kalma smiled at the young boy. "Well then what are we waiting for!" Chamo shouted, slapping himself in the face to get siked up. "We've got a whole class of lovely Japanese school girls just waiting for me, err, I mean us."

Kalma sweat dropped while Negi chuckled. "Come on, I believe they're waiting for us."

XxX

**Earlier that morning**

Sitting at a large desk in his office, Konoemon felt a small shiver travel up his spine as he gazed at the resent report he held in his hands.

"Are you alright Konoe-sama?" asked a voice.

Konoemon looked up from his papers to the man sitting on the other side of his desk. He was a tall man with grayed hair and slight wrinkles. He wore a brownish green suit with a purple tie and a small pair of bottom framed glasses. "No Takamichi, it's just…"

Takamichi raised an eyebrow. _'He sounds nervous, he's _never _nervous.'_ He thought, a small sense of dread clawing at the back of his mind. "What's wrong?"

Konoemon let out a shaky sigh. "This is the graduation report from the academy in Whales." He looked Taka in the eyes. "Negi Springfield graduated."

Takamichi smiled. "Already ?! That's great!" he exclaimed. "I was originally hoping to attend to congratulate him; I haven't had the chance to talk to him since he enrolled."

Konoemon nodded, a wistful smile making its way to his lips. "Yes, he graduated at the top of all of his classes including his electives. The Head Master wrote that all the teachers reported him being an absolute joy to have in class. That his mind was basically a sponge, soaking in all his lessons." Despite his happiness for the boys' achievements his voice still had a sad tone to it.

Takamichi understood, their last encounter with Negi didn't end on a happy note to put it lightly. Still he felt proud that the son of his friend was doing well, and hoped that maybe the boy was finally starting to heal. "Did the report say what his diploma's test was?"

"Yes, he's been assigned as a teacher…here."

Taka's smile fell at that, now realizing the reason for Konoemons' mood. The academy housed many dangerous magical secrets, secrets that Negi would no doubt find and take full advantage of. "So he's the one that's replacing me this year." He stated more than asked.

"Yes. I actually found this out immediately after the graduation. I was hoping to have him assigned to a different school but you and I both know that once a test has been assigned it cannot be changed. But lately the more I think about it, the more I feel that this could turn out to be a good thing."

Taka gave a look of surprise. "How could this be a good thing? I trust him enough not to harm any of the normal students or staff but we both know that he'll take any chance to gain power and uncover the knowledge that the academy houses, and with your granddaughter attending…"

"I think you give him and this school too little credit." The dean cut him off. Taka looked at him, uncertain. "It is true that Negi is strong, stronger than anyone his age should be. But you must not forget that this school has been the HQ for the Kanto magic association since its founding. The seals and wards on these grounds are some of the strongest in the entire world, as for the students." He paused then stood and walked over to a large window that overlooked the campus. "Tell me Taka would you say an outsider would feel unwelcome here?"

Taka shook his head. "No just the opposite in fact. When I first started here I'll admit that I was a bit uncertain. I knew the staff would take to me just fine but I was unsure if the students would follow. I did have the occasional issue with some of the older groups but the younger generations opened up to me rather nicely."

"Did you find it at all difficult to open up to your students or fellow staff member, did you feel that you were kept at an emotional distance?"

"At first yes but once I took some time to get to know the others I found it quite easy, liberating in fact and I was surprised at how eager they all were to confide in me." Taka answered, wondering where this was going.

Konoemon turned back to him. "I trust that you've been reading up on the Headmasters report on Negi?"

Takahata nodded. From all the reports he read and the few times he checked in on the boy he knew that even though he was starting to come to terms with what happened, he was still far from letting go. _'Or forgiving us'_ he thought sadly, bringing a hand up to rub his head. In the seven years since he started the Academy Negi hadn't made one true friend. Oh sure he had some connections, people he would hang around with a few times. But from what he heard those relationships were of a more 'physical' nature then an actual friendship. He never allowed anyone to get to close to him and almost any attempt from a student or teacher to break the boys emotional shell was met with either cold rejection or flat out hostility.

"He said that Negi was still having trouble opening up to others."

Konoe nodded. "I had a rather long talk with the Headmaster shortly after Negi got his diploma and we both agree that while he still holds a lot of resentment towards the two of us and the world in general he does NOT take is aggression out on others and we felt that if he was placed in the right environment we just might be able to crack his shell."

Taka saw a small, hopeful smile appear on the Deans face. "Do you really think that this will work?"

Konoemon nodded as he sat back down. "I do. It won't be easy and there will most likely be many trials but this place will be good for him Takamichi, I can feel it. He will most likely never lose his hatred of us but if he can surround himself with friends then there just might be hope for him."

They continued talking about Negi's place in the School for a couple more hours until a knock at the door brought them out of their discussion. "Come in."

The door opened to reveal the subject of their conversation, Negi, standing in the doorway with his hood still up and his two familiars on his shoulders. The two adults stiffened slightly as they felt his shrouded eyes looking them over. Not bothering to hide the air of hostility that he carried with him.

Konoemon was the first to speak, putting on a jolly smile and waving a small fan he pulled from nowhere. "Hohoho it is good to see you again Negi. Please come in, come in, how was your trip to Japan."

'Holy fuck!' Kalma said to Negi through the mental link she shared with him and Chamo. 'It's Mr. Peanut!' Negi bit down on the inside of his mouth to prevent a laugh while he felt Chamo burry his face into his neck.

Stepping into the room Negi kicked the door closed behind him before walking to the desk. "It was alright" he spoke in a neutral voice. "The flight was long but I slept through most of it, though the train rides were nice especially the ones that cut trough the forests. That last one however was a little cramped. When I heard that most of the population at this city was female I thought the Headmaster was just fucking with me." His voice became slightly amused at the end.

'No seriously what the fuck is wrong with his head?'

The two older men relaxed a bit as the tension in the room died down. "That's good to hear, I was worried that the long trip might tire you out. So tell me, how much do you know about your assignment."

'Hello, I know I'm not talking to myself here.'

"Just that I'm to replace Takamichi as an English and homeroom teacher, other than that not much."

'So we're all just going to ignore the fact that you're going to be taking orders from a man who looks like a baby from Hirosh...?'

'Whoa!' Chamo yelled. 'do NOT finish that sentence, not cool girl!'

'The fuck Kalma?!'

'What?'

'That was uncalled for.'

'Oh like you actually care, you hate the old fuck'

'Well yeah but I'm not a dick about it'

Konoe nodded "Other then helping to protect the school and students from any magical threats that's basically it, though I will have to ask you to keep your magic a secret. This city may hold a good amount of magic in it but the populace at large is still ignorant to the fact."

Negi stared at the man for a moment before responding. "Fine, but as you are well aware of I am expected to find a partner or partners while I am training, and I _will_ be looking." He stated, his voice becoming stern showing he had no intention of changing his mind or backing down.

Konoe and Taka Paled slightly not because he would be looking for a partner, they already expected that, but because of what he could teach them. They both shuddered at the thought of someone else learning-.

"I don't plan on teaching anyone _that_." He cut in as if reading their minds. "It's for me to know and me alone."

Konoe let out a relieved sigh and nodded. "Very well then but please try and be discrete while you're looking." He reaches across his desk and pressed a small button. "Shizuna could you please come here for a moment." A few moments later the office door opened. Negi turned around to see who had entered just in time to have his face enveloped by what was without a doubt the largest rack he had ever come into contact with. Feeling a hand gently rub the top of his head he pulled back to gaze up at the woman's face.

'Sweet mother of magic.' He thought.

'What the fuck does she eat to get them that big?' Kalma.

'Hot damn those puppies are huge!' Chamo.

'Keep it under your fur fuzz ball.'

The person before him was a tall, light skinned woman that could not have been past her twenties. She had long elegant blue hair that cascaded past her shoulder and wore a light blue long sleeved turtle-neck that hugged her figure with a matching dress skirt. Her pale violet eyes sparkled through her bottom framed oval glasses like jewels and a set of yellow teardrop earrings dangled from the sides of her head. "Ah, sorry about that." Her voice was light and sweet.

"Negi this lovely lady is Shizuna Minamoto, she's one of Mahora's guidance councilors and Nurses. I've asked that she serve as your adviser while you're here so if you have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to ask her."

'Oh boy.' Chamo shook his head lightly. 'Bros got that look again.'

'Not again.' Kalma sigh dejectedly, burying her face under her wings.

Shizuna felt her heart stop for a moment as she looked down at the boy. Now that his head was turned up she could clearly see his large eyes. Eyes that were a unique shade of jeweled pink. But what brought the heat to her face was the look he was giving her, no child should be able to have that much raw and unrestrained lust and passion in their eyes. A hand reached up to take her free one as a charming grin made its way to his face.

'Target acquired.'

Negi stepped back and brought her hand up to his lips, brushing them gently over her knuckles. When he spoke his voice was gentle and smooth as silk. "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Minamoto."

Shizuna was trying, and failing, to keep the blush from her face. "Likewise, I look forward to working with you Negi-sensei."

He turned her hand over and kissed her palm. "Oh I do believe you will."

Shizuna actually felt her knees buckle a bit. 'Sweet Kami.'

'Damn, bro works fast.'

A cough from behind reminded them that they weren't alone. Negi noted with some satisfaction that it was Konoeamon that coughed and both he and Takamichi were sporting awkward blushes. "Yes well Trust that the two of you will get along quite well _professionally_. Now Shizuna-chan can you please show Negi to his class?" With a nod an embarrassed Shizuna turned to leave, eager to be away from her two coworkers. "Oh! Before I forget I have something for you Negi." Taka stood and brought something out of his bag before handing it to Negi. "It's a roster i made for the class, I thought it might help you remember the students names and seating arrangements better." Negi accepted it after a moment of thought and tucked it under his arm before he turned to follow Shizuna out. The Deans voice gave him pause.

"Good luck Negi-kun."

He turned his head back slowly to regard the man and the temperature seemed to drop several degrees. "I would suggest that you not speak to me in such a familiar way _Konoeamon_." With that he turned away and walked out of the office, slamming the door behind him.

'Well it was worth a shot.'

"Do you think this is the right thing to do Konoeeamon?" Takahata asked.

Konoe slouched back in his chair. "I hope so Takamichi, I hope so."

...

...

...

"I just hope he doesn't try that on any of the students."

XxXxXxX

Shizuna guided Negi through the Academy halls while he quickly read through his roster. "Um Negi-sensei, if you don't mind me asking, I couldn't help noticing your..hostility towards Takahata and the Dean."

Negi closed his roster. "Sorry about that. There's just some...bad blood between us."

Shizuna nodded, deciding not to press the issue for which Negi was thankful. Before long she stopped beside a classroom door. "And here we are, class 3-A."

Stuffing the roster into his backpack Negi walked over to the large classroom window. "Well, here we go."


	2. A Q and A with the class

**READ** ME

I am so, so sorry that this took as long as it did. i work in a privately owned grocery store and its the busiest time of the year for us. Not to mention that they keep changing my hours around and i fucking hate the place. so im just drained by the time i get home.

I've been having a hard time focusing on my writing but i figured something out. i have never been able to focus on just one thing at a time so now im writing three fics. this, a harry potter fic and a naruto fic. believe it or not its actually helping me focus.

also for this chapter in needed a way for negi to graduate from his school with all of his degrees while keeping him around the same age as the manga. i have never attended any form of collage so what i did was i looked up some stuff online and then proceeded to pull an explanation out of my $$. so sorry if you're reading that part and just thinking..._what?_

well its 12:00 am so i should probably upload this and go pass out but one final thing.

REVIEW THE DAMN STORY. PLEASE! i need you guys to give me reviews so i know that you care and like it. otherwise i feel like no one gives a shit.

enjoy.

disclaimer: i do not own Negima.

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><p>Negi leaned against the edge of the window looking in at the classroom he was assigned to teach. 31 girls filled its space, chatting and laughing with one another. Some were leaning over desks and chairs sharing stories and jokes, others were huddled together looking over papers and random objects. One girl with her hair tied up in buns and covered in some strange bag accessory he had never seen before was even selling food. He took in the sight of them, studying them. The ones that were the most open and walked around to great others, the ones that tried to seclude themselves from the rest as much as possible, the ones that seemed content to just sit and interact only if someone else engaged them in a conversation. How they moved. A few were slouched over their desks their poster weak and timid while other carried themselves with confidence, sitting up straight and alert or walking about in long strides.<p>

Something caught his eyes however. Over by one of the first windows on the other side of the room he could see a small haze, a slight shimmer in the air. '_What...'_

"They can be quite a handful." Shizuna's voice brought him out of his observation. "Though Ayaka-san, the class president, can usually keep them in line they do get a little rowdy, especially the Narutaki twins." She gave him a gentle smile. "Is there anything you would like to know before we go in?" He shook his head. "Do you have any planned programs for the class yet?"

Again he shook his head. "Not really. I do have something in mind but I haven't really ironed out the details so I'm just going to wing it for now."

Shizuna seemed a bit hesitant but eventually nodded, he was assigned as a teacher for a reason. "Shall we?" She gestured to the door.

Negi shrugged and walked back to the classroom door. Shizuna knocked several times and waited while the sound off hushed voices and scrapping chairs filled the hallway before dyeing down. Opening the door, he took a step in when he felt his senses slam a jumble of information into the front of his mind. 'Seriously?' He thought with a small snort. Snapping his left arm up his fingers wrapped around an overly used eraser that was about to land on his head and ,with a flick of his wrist, tossed it to its proper resting place on the chalkboard. He took another step and swung his foot forward, ripping a small tripwire from where it was set into the doorframe. Another step and he swung his right hand over his head, hooking it around a pail full of water before flinging it behind him past a wide eyed Shizuna and into the hallway. Walking over to his desk, which he was pleased to note was quite large and made of solid wood, he twisted his upper body back slightly and waved his arm around in a blur, easily catching several suction cup arrows between his fingers. Finishing his trip he hopped up and slid onto the front of his deck, bringing one knee up to wrest on while the other dangled off the edge. He spun the arrows individually between his fingers as he addressed the class.

"Ok, while I will admit that using a chalk dust covered eraser as a distraction was a clever idea the rest of the trap was just pitiful. First off who uses a tripwire? I mean yes it is a classic but it's also extremely unreliable as the targeted person could easily step over it and you definitely should not rely on one to set off your other traps, like the bucket. Instead of having it connected to the wire you should have set it up so it would fall when the door was opened more than half way or if you _needed_ to use a wire then do so at the top of the door frame. Remember the person was just blinded by chalk dust the last thing that they're going to want to do is look up. And finally the arrows. While they were a good idea you should have set the launchers up at different angles and had a couple placed in front of the door, so while the person is focusing on the ones in front of them they won't notice the rest." He clenched his hand into a fist, snapping the arrows. "So over all I give it a D+." He finished, giving the class a small grin.

_'Show off.'_ Chamo muttered as he crawled down Negi's arm to sit on the desk, Kalma fluttering after him.

_'Don't hate.'_

The entire class was wide eyed and silent, gawking at him, but he noticed that two in particular were sporting light blushes and looking rather humiliated. "Ah sorry about that." One of them said, a small girl with pink hair tide back into two pigtails and bright pink eyes. "We thought you were our teacher." The other finished. She look exactly like the first girl except her eyes were blue and her hair was done up into buns and covered the same bag accessory that he had seen the girl that was selling food wear. The Narutaki twins if he memorized the roster correctly.

Shizuna came up beside him. "Actually girls he is your teacher. Starting today he will be replacing Takahata as 2-A's English and homeroom teacher."

There was silence for all of 10 seconds before...

"WHAT?!" The class collectively screamed, the force of which was actually enough to knock Chamo off his paws.

Shizuna nodded, unaffected by the noise. "Yes, he was actually hired by the Dean himself. Now please quiet down and allow him to introduce himself."

The girls complied, sitting back into their seats while they examined the cloaked figure in front of them. He stood from his spot on the desk and walked around it to deposited the remnants of the arrows he was still holding. Reaching over he picked up a stick of chalk and began writing on the board in English, when he finished he placed the chalk back and turned to them. Bringing his hands up he grabbed the edges of his hood and pulled it back, revealing his face.

The first thing the girls noticed was his hair. It fell down his face in long spiked bangs that parted around his eyes and continued on to his shoulders, but what truly grabbed their attention was the color. His hair seemed to be double sided, on the outside it was a shining ruby red while the inside was a dark brown. This combined with his large glowing ruby pink eyes was a striking contrast to his skin color. It looked almost paper white, as if he had never seen the light of day. His face was a bit round but lacked any of the usual baby fat that a child would have. What it did have though were scars. One long scar started at his hairline on his left side and cut down and right, across his eye over his nose and through the right corner of his mouth before ending under his chin. Three other scars that looked like claw marks streaked down his right cheek while his left sported a random array of smaller ones. They also noticed that he had several piercings. There were two rings going through the outer edge of his right eyebrow, a small spike in his left nostril, and a snake bite on the left side of his lower lip. From what they could see of his ears it looked like he had a spiral helix in the top section of his right ear and several smaller piercings in his left earlobe. A few of the girls thought they saw the flashing of a tongue piercing when he spoke.

Over all the girls were having a hard time deciding if he was exotically cute or frightening, though a few of them did blush including Shizuna who had yet to see his face without his hood covering it in shadow. When he cocked his head to the side and gave them a gentle smile they made their decision.

"HE'S SO CUTE!" several of them squealed as more than half the class jumped up from their seats to hug or pinch the cheeks of their new child teacher while bombarding him with questions.

"Where are you from?"

"How old are you?"

"Are you really a teacher?"

The girls fired off each question in rapid succession, the ruckus drowning out Shizuna's attempts the quell them. With the crowd cutting of his view of the room, he missed the expressions on three of his students. One was of genuine shock that slowly melted into a devious smirk, another was a cross of horror and guilt and the last one was a mixture of astonishment, regret, joy and finally hope.

"Can we keep him Professor?" asked one of the students.

"No girls you cannot "keep him" as I said he will be your new Homeroom and English teacher. He has all the necessary credentials and I heard from the Dean that he was the top graduating student at his university in his year and has several Academic Degrees."

Negi felt one of the girls wrap her arms around him from behind and squeal. "Amazing, he's so smart and at such a young age!"

_'Well, it looks like my introduction to the class is going well. Well except for the fact that I haven't been able to actually introduce myself yet.'_

"Alright everyone that is enough!" a loud commanding voice rang out, silencing the whole class. "Now return to your seats, you are causing trouble for our new sensei." Through a small gap in the dispersing crowd Negi was able to see that the voice belonged to a tall, fair skinned girl with long blonde hair that flowed down to her waist. She had emerald green eyes and carried an air of wealth about her.

As the students returned to their seats, moaning and grumbling, Negi leaned back against the chalkboard next the words he wrote. "Thank you Ms. Yukihiro." He said, giving the girl a small nod.

She smiled warmly at him in return, a small blush coloring her cheeks. "You're most welcome sensei and please, just call me Ayaka."

"HOLD ON A SECOND, why is Professor Takahata being replaced by this pipsqueak?!" Came a booming cry. The voice belonged to a tall red-head who's long hair was tied back into two ponytails by a pair of twin bell ribbons. She stood behind her desk, pointing an accusing finger at Negi.

Negi cocked his head to the side, choosing to ignore the "pipsqueak" comment while Shizuna scolded the girl. "Asuna, while I understand that you are upset by the sudden change, that is no excuse for your disrespect young lady!"

The girl gritted her teeth in irritation. "There is no way that some brat could replace Takahata-sensei, he probably won't be able to do half the job that sensei could!" As soon as the words left her mouth Asuna's world went cold, cold to the point that she thought she saw her own breath and the rest of the class felt the same.

"Excuse me Ms Kagurazaka..." Negi's voice brought their attention back to him and some shivered at the sound of it. It was no more than a whisper but the shear level of venom and hate that it carried could be heard by every student in the room. It was only made worse by the look he was giving Asuna. His once bright pink eyes were now glazed over like ice on a lake and his lips were pulled back in a barely contained snarl. "I must request that you _never_ compare me to Takamichi again, is that understood?"

Asuna felt frozen in place, fear sapping her energy and clouding her thoughts. She was just barely able to nod her when it all stopped. Negi's scowl became a warming smile and his eyes flickered back to their usual shade. "Thank you." He said happily, though there was still an underlining tension in his voice.

Shizuna, after pulling herself together, turned to address the class "Now then, I was informed by the Dean that the Academy where the professor here graduated from assigns a special after graduation test to its students. They are each assigned a random but fitting task that they must be able to complete in order to fully graduate. If they fail then they must return to an extra year of school before they can be assigned another task."

"What happens if they pass?" asked a rather board looking girl with long dark purple hair and light purple eyes."

"If we pass, Ms. Ayase, then we are free to do as we wish and leave our assigned jobs to look for something new, though most usually choose to stay." Negi answered.

"What was your schools name?"

"What country was it in?"

"What kind of school allows children to graduate?"

Negi raised his hand to cut off another stream of questions. "I know that you all have allot of questions for me and I thought of a perfect way for you to ask them and for me to start the class all in one go. I would like everyone that has a question that you wish to ask me to raise your hand and when I call on you, you may ask it but ONLY if you can do so in English."

That got a collected moan out of the class. "Now now girls it's not that bad. How about we start off with something simple. Can any of you read what my name is?" He asked, pointing at the words he wrote on the board with his thumb.

Negi

S

Springfield

The class slowly read over the English script, testing the words on their lips.

"Anyone?" He asked after a few moments. When he saw a nervous hand go up he gave the girl a nod to stand. She was a fit girl with well tanned skin, blonde hair and grass green eyes. He recognized her from the class roster as Ku Fei. She stood slowly, clearly regretting her decision. "There's no reason to be nervous Ms. Fei, if you make a mistake I will correct you." He reassured her.

"Um, N-Negi, S, Springfierd?" Ku tried. She was shifting in place, clearly uncomfortable with the classes eyes on her.

"You were close but you mispronounced the L in my last name." When he saw her cheeks redden in shame he quickly added. "But it's alright, from what I understand many Asian dialects don't have the western pronunciation for the letter L. Why don't we take a quick moment to practice it as a class?"

Negi watch as Ku sat back in her seat, giving him a small but grateful smile as he addressed the rest of the class room. "Now from what I have read one of the main difference between the English and Japanese pronunciation for the letter L is the amount of time the speaker allows their tongue to stay connected to the roof of their mouth. When you go to say a word containing the letter L you must allow your tongue to remain in contact with the roof of your mouth for a few moments longer, similar to when you pronounce an N in a word. It also help if you curve the tip of your tongue back while you are doing so, I feel that it makes the transition between letters and sounds easier. Such as HeLLLow, LLLike, LLLick, foLLLLow. Now you try?"

He spent the next few minutes wandering the room and aiding the students in their lesson before he felt that most of them had gotten the hang of it. "Very good but I would still like you all to please spend some time after school practicing." He walked back down to the front of the class and leaned back against the board. "Now how about we start the Q and A? But remember to ask your questions in English and try not to make them to personal. Shizuna-san you are free to stay if you would like." He said looking over to his co-worker who had remained by his desk since they entered. She thought for a moment before nodding and he pulled out his chair for her, bringing it to the side of his desk. At her questioning look he said simply. "I prefer standing." And with that done hands shot up around the room like rockets.

"How old are you?" asked the first girl.

"In English please Ms. Sasaki" Negi sighed.

"Oops, sorry Sensei. How oLd are you?"

_'Close enough.' _"I am twelve years old but if any of you still go by the Kazowe system then I would be thirteen."

"Are those two your pets?" Another student asked. One who's name first caught his attention when reading over the roster. Konoka Kanoe. The Dean's own granddaughter.

"Yes. Chamo is an ermine I picked up when I was younger and Kalma is a raven that I raised sometime later."

"There so cute, can I pet them professor?"

"Well..." Chamo turned to him with wide teary eyes, his lower lip quivering. "Oh fine." He sighed and Chamo wasted no time in jumping from the deck and into the girls waiting arms. Melting into a puddle when she began scratching behind his ears. Kalma decided to remain where she was.

The next question came from a somewhat plump girl that reminded Negi of a Koala. Satsuki Yotsuba "Where are you from?"

"I was born in a village in the mountains of Wales."

"What school did you go to?" Asked a tall girl with long brown hair that was mostly tied back into a ponytail leaving only a few loose bangs framing her face. Akira Okouchi.

"I attended a private University in England for five years. Due to its isolation from the rest of the world and the fact that it is a mostly private school, giving its name would be pointless."

One of the girls jumped up from her desk. She was relatively short when compared to the rest of the class. She wore her long black hair down in two tight pigtails with the exception of a few stray strands and had on a pair of wide circle framed glasses. "Hold on a second, how.."

"In English please Ms. Hakase."

She gritted her teeth but none the less restarted her question. "Professor Shizuna said that you have several academic degrees. How could you obtain ANY Degrees with only five years of schooling?" She asked in a disbelieving voice.

"It is true that I only attended my school for five years but thanks to a special program it has I was able to graduate faster than most other schools would allow."

"And what program is that?" She all but demanded.

" In the beginning month of a school year any student may take an evaluation test to see if they are eligible for an advanced studies program but only for their majors, electives do not count. If the students are eligible and choose to join then they are taken away from the main school body and placed into a separate section of the Academy. The program has no official name yet but it basically boils down to this. All of the students courses are immediately bumped up to an advanced college level, with the chance for early advancement if the students desire to do so, and classes are extended by several hours. Originally the Academy's school hours ran from 8:00 Am to 3:00 Pm, in the advanced program that time changes to 7:30 Am to 5:00-7:00 Pm depending on how many majors you are taking. Any electives that you have are studied in the first two hours of class. Also almost all vacations and days off are cut down. Spring break is two weeks as opposed to a month, summer vacation is cut to three weeks unless the student makes a request, and we only get two consecutive days off every two weeks. The only exceptions are for three days off for Christmas, two days off for studying before a major test and a day off after said test. The following school year's classes are raised for the final time to an academic level and test are given out less frequently. We get to choose how long we attend the program for though. Students may drop out at any time and they will be placed back into normal classes fitting their current grade level. However any student that does not pass the end year finals will be forcefully dropped out, it is a very unforgiving program when it comes to failing tests. We are given an in class breakfast and two thirty minute lunch breaks. The program runs for four years minimum to eight years max and we are allowed to choose when we want to take our graduation test within that time. At the end of the program our graduation test are graded and we are given an academic diploma that reflects our overall score for each major. If we fail any of the test then we most repeat a year of school for that subject."

The class and Shizuna stared at him completely gob smacked. '_Who in their right mind would willingly sit through that!?'_ Was their collective thought. After a long silence it was Satomi that finally broke the spell. "H-how many degrees did you earn?" Her voice was filled with awe and Negi sensed a growing respect in it.

Ignoring that fact that she broke the English only rule he answered. "I received a Doctorates in biology, and Master degrees in chemistry, English, mathematics, and zoology. I signed up for the program almost immediately after I was enrolled and chose to take my graduation tests at the end of my fourth year along side six other students. I spent my fifth year focusing on my electives which were genetics, biochemistry and a few music classes." He bit down a smirk at the bug-eyed faces they were making and chose to throw in one more sucker punch. "When I first started there were fifty-two students in the program as well, most of them had already been attending for a few years by the time I joined. When I decided to take my graduation tests thirty-four others chose to do the same and of those thirty-four only twelve graduated with me."

Silence was his response. Complete and utter silence brought on by disbelief and awe. It was his favorite kind of silence really, right underneath fearful anticipation.

But sadly he had a job to do and couldn't afford to enjoy the moment for too long. Bringing his hands up he clapped loudly to convey the class back to reality. "Are there any more questions?"

A girl in the back raised her hand, she had semi long brown hair with part of it tied into a pony tail at one side of her head. Yuna Akashi. "H-how hard were the graduation tests?"

"Each major had its own test that took three days to complete and consisted of a one-hundred and fifty question packet on the subject, a ten page essay and a live demonstration of each individuals knowledge on the subject in front of the schools staff. The demonstrations varied depending on the subject. For example, in my biology demonstration I had to dissect several cadavers and give an oral assessment on the bodies state of decay, its cause of death and name several dozen organs and bones along with their uses." Negi stated to the class.

"Th-that program sounds like a living hell." Satomi said. To which Negi could only nod his head. "It really was. The amount of all-nighters and after class studies I had to do made me regret my decision a few months in, but I stuck with it and managed to do pretty damn well if I do say so. Now the next question and lets please avoid any more about my education, I feel that we spent enough time on the subject."

The next question came from a thin girl with soft pink hair and red eyes, Ako Izumi. "What instruments do you play?"

"I can play the violin, several types of flute but I prefer the pan flute, and the pipe organ." '_Which was basically a requirement for someone like me.'_ He said over his link to Chamo and Kalma, making them snicker.

The next girl, who he recognized as the one that hugged him, had long dark green hair, red eyes and wore a pair of rectangle bottom-framed glasses. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you get those scars?"

Out the corner of his eye he noted the harsh, betrayed look that Ako was giving the girl. Deciding to look into it later he said. "I clearly remember asking that the questions avoid personal topics Ms Saotome." She had the good graces to look ashamed but her stare said that she still wanted to know.

He ignored her gaze however and checked the time on the clock that hung on the class wall. _Five minutes left huh. _"Alright, seeing as the period is almost over you may spend the remainder of class talking amongst yourselves."

The girls happily complied as they stood from the respective chairs to continue their conversations from before. Shizuna stood as well and, with a polite farewell to Negi, left the room. After bringing his chair back behind the desk Negi decided to sit down and watch over the room.

'_Something feels...wrong.'_

_'You feel it too?' _Kalma asked as she fluttered onto his shoulder. Chamo climbed up behind her after reluctantly pulling himself away from his petting session. Since they had entered the room the trio could feel a strange mixture of magic flowing through the air. That on its own wouldn't have been too unusual given where they were, but the fact that it came from several separate points gave them a reason to pause. They all knew that there would definitely be magically gifted students that attended the school, it was obvious really since over half of the staff members where mages. But some of the energies that they were feeling now definitely came from something other than normal mages. One extra thing bothered him. It was something he noticed before entering the class. A small, creeping feeling on the back of his mind, one that he knew all too well.

_'The dead walk these grounds, but where?' _Then he remembered. '_That shimmer from before.'_ It was still there. The last seat in the first row, closest to the windows. A faint haze floated in the air, barely noticeable by the naked eye. '_Well what have we hear?'_ He focused a bit of magic into his eyes and watched as the hazing cleared. Fading away like the a morning fog to reveal a girl. She was a small, deathly pale thing with long snow white hair and striking red eyes. She wore a school uniform but it was different from what the other students wore. Instead of the typical brown jacket with a violet vest, white under shirt and checkered skirt she wore a white sailor fuku with a blue collar and dress skirt.

He watched in silence as she gazed out the window, a small frown on her lips. _'The poor thing, she probably hasn't had any form of social interaction since she died.'_ Kalma said and Negi agreed. Even amongst mages the ability to interact or even see ghost without performing some sort of ritual was a rarity. As if feeling his eyes on her the girl turned to face him. Their eyes met and for a split second Negi could see a growing hope in hers. But it was quickly squashed down as the girl shook her head in hopeless disbelief.

XxX

Sayo Aisaka sat in her usual seat in class 2-A while she watched the other student go about their business. Greeting all of their friends and sharing stories about the things they did over the summer. The familiar form of Kazumi Asakura drew her attention as she watched the girl make her way across the room to sit down in her assigned seat, right next to her.

Sayo gave the girl a small smile. "Good morning Asakura-san." She spoke feebly.

But the girl ignored her, instead turning back in her chair to talk to one of the other students. Sayo's head lowered. Honestly, she shouldn't have expected anything less. No one had ever noticed her before, not since she had died. Yes, student number one Sayo Aisaka was a ghost. Since her death sixty years ago she had been cursed to wander the grounds of Mahora Academy. She retained no knowledge as to how she died and only had a few scattered memories of her actual life. She had tried calling out, screaming for someone _anyone_ to notice her. But they would just continue on with what they were doing, ignorant to her cries. At one point, by complete chance, she had stumbled across one of the schools secrets. That most of the staff, including the Dean himself, was made up of mages. The discovery had filled her with a profound hope, having heard stories from random conversations that mages could use their powers to communicate with spirits. But she was met with disillusionment at every turn. The only reaction she had ever been able to get out of them was a brief moment of awareness, a quick glance in her direction or a silent shudder and that was all.

Eventually she gave up on it all together and resigned herself to attending classes. Sitting in the same chair she had used when alive. It was one of the only thing she remembered from her life. As the years went by so did her class mates. She would watch year after year of new students flood through the doors filling the room with chatter and laughter only to disappear with the coming summer. It pained her greatly. Growing close to each of them, laughing when they laughed and crying when they cried even if they never noticed. Only to loose them when they graduated from the Academy. But she suffered through it, the pain was the only reassurance she had that she was real.

This day started like all the others. She waited in the room for the other students to file in and would watch as they went through the day. On occasion she would try speaking, a small irrational hope still burning for someone to notice.

"I heard that we might be getting a new teacher this year." Kazumi's voice caught her ear.

"I heard the same thing. I think Konoka mentioned it to me. Something about a friend of her grandfather or something."

'It's most likely going to be another mage then.' Sayo reflected, remembering Takahata's first day as the class's new teacher some years back.

"What?!" Screamed a furious Asuna. "Konoka is it true, are they really replacing Takahata-Sensei?"

Konoka placed a finger to her chin in thought. "Well I remember hearing grandpa say that someone he knew was coming to Japan to be a teacher. I think I overheard him talking to sensei about moving him to the Collage classes a couple days ago but I didn't stay around long enough to hear the whole thing."

"B-but why would they replace Takahata-sensei?" Asked a dejected Asuna.

"Oh calm down Red, god forbid you take a break from your one sided old man complex." Said a snarky Ayaka as she used the back of her hand to cover a self satisfied grin at insulting her long time nemesis.

"What did you say Blondie? Takahata-sensei is not an old man he's a mature adult." She stormed over to the other girl and the two slammed foreheads like they always did.

Sayo ignored their confrontation having witnessed it countless times before. Some minutes later there was a series of hard knocks at the door. The other students scrambled to their seats and once the clamor died down the door opened. Sayo watched in fascination as a small cloaked figure walked confidently into the room and effortlessly handled all of the traps that were set up around the door. She laughed when the boy actually graded the class on the traps performance and was one of the few that blushed when he finally showed his face.

One thing held her interest though and it only became more questionable when Asuna decided to take out her frustrations on him. After she compared him to Takahata a strange thing happened though she doubted any of the others noticed. As a ghost she was able to see a small amount of the life force that all living things had. It usually came in the form of a small glowing aura that hugged the person like a second skin though the aura for mages typically expanded out more. Depending on the organism the color of the aura varied. Green for humans, pink for animals, blue for plants, yellow for mages and some of the students in her class had red surrounding them for some reason. This person however didn't have an aura. That was a first. From all the years she spent haunting Mahora she had never seen ANYONE without some kind of aura surrounding them. His two pets where a different story. The ermine's aura was a blend of pink yellow and purple while the raven's was a dark, almost black, shade of purple and it was fluctuating rapidly, as if it was trying to reach out for something only to draw back when it didn't find whatever it was looking for.

But that changed when Asuna insulted him. An inky black presence emerged from his body and the ravens strange aura was immediately drawn to it, feeding it as it filled the room. The other students shivered but Sayo felt different. As the strange presence washed over her she felt as if she was bathed in warm water. It wrapped around her form and comforted her, rejuvenated her. She felt as if she could fly around the world a hundred times while singing. 'Wh-what is this, this feeling.'

"Thank you." Negi's somewhat happy voice rang out and just like that the feeling was gone, leaving her dazed and confused.

She practiced along with that rest of the class during their quick English lesson though she didn't need it, having fluently mastered the language many years ago, and listened to his answers during the "Q and A" but she couldn't stop thinking about that wonderful feeling.

'Maybe this year won't be so bad. And if he passes his test and decides to stay then I might get to experience that sensation again.' She thought with a wistful smile. But the smile fell away in place of darker thoughts as she remembered the decades of loneliness she had suffered. 'Who am I kidding. With my luck he'll choose to leave. In all the time I spent in this place nothing good has ever happened to me.' She let out a small chocked sob. 'Hell, Asakura-san is the first person that has ever been able to sit next to me and she doesn't even notice me.' She gazed out the window to watch the many birds that soured through the sky. Unbound to one location and free to go where they wished, free to move on. The girl lost herself in the sight until she felt a small jolt run down her spine. She twisted around to see that her new teacher was looking in her direction. No. He was looking right at her, right into her eyes. 'Can he, does he see me?' A small hope began building in her chest as the two maintained eye contact. But she stomped it back down as rationality kicked in. Why did she keep doing this to herself? How many times was she going to allow herself to be disappointed?

'"He doesn't see me he just feels my presence." She said to herself and she looked away. Unwilling to give her idiotic hopes more fuel.

_'BRRIIING'_

The school bell rang out causing the class to jump up and cheer. They rushed out the door with quick goodbyes to their new teacher. When the last student left Negi stood from his chair and walked around his desk. He raised his right hand into the air and snapped his fingers. The sound echoed in the now empty room, startling Sayo. The classroom door slammed shut on its own while the blinds to the class and outside windows fell down, blocking all light from entering.

The resident ghost regarded the child teacher with a raised eyebrow. 'What is he...' Her thoughts stopped when the boy turned to face where she sat, a gentle smile gracing his scared face as he approached her. He stopped right in front of her desk and she would swear that if she had a heart it would be hammering in her chest. She watched as he leaned down, his eyes never leaving hers and what he did next made her feel like she could die all over again. He spoke.

"Hello Sayo."


End file.
